Founding Farmers Will Open Reston Location

Reston will be getting a local outpost of Founding Farmers, the local chainlet of farm-to-table restaurants.

Comstock Partners confirms that the Farmers Restaurant Group has signed a lease to take over almost all of the current retail space at Reston Station.

The 10,000-square-foot restaurant is in the design stage, says Comstock spokeswoman Maggie Parker.

“We are delighted to have them out here,” said Parker. “Founding Farmers is a terrific, successful restaurant. It’s a great fit for Reston. ”

The retail space was completed prior to the opening of Silver Line in summer 2014. It has not had a permanent tenant, but has been used for special events in the months since. Comstock late last year announced a new concept — The Stock Market @ Reston Station — that would bring retail and food booths to the space. The deal fell apart in July, however.

The restaurant space will eventually be the first level of a future hotel at Reston Station. Reston Station is Comstock’s mixed-use project that sits atop the 3,300-space underground parking garage adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Silver Line Metro station.

Founding Farmers, which has locations in the District, Rockville and Tysons Corner, said to expect “something different in Reston, including a rooftop dining scene.”

“Reston is a wonderful, growing community and we’re excited to be joining the neighborhood, ” Dan Simons of Farmers Restaurant Group said in a statement. “As we expand, we’re passionately committed to evolving with each new location. Between the location of Reston Station and the chance to work with Comstock, this was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.”

Founding Farmers is expected to open in Reston in late 2016, after the company opens Farmers & Distillers, a 12,000-square-foot restaurant with in-house distillery , planned for 600 Massachusetts Ave. NW in the District, Parker said.

Founding Farmers other locations include breakfast, lunch and dinner service; meats from an in-house butchery; local craft beers; Virginia oysters; and a selection of locally distilled liquors.

Comstock is also slated to start work on Reston Station’s first office building soon, said Parker. The 16-story, 365,000-square-foot building, designed by architect Helmut Jahn, will have, among other amenities, a rooftop helipad, and plaza-level retail.

The BLVD at Reston Station, the 528-unit luxury residential building by Comstock, will open a pre-leasing center soon in a small portion of the retail space on the plaza, said Parker. The building expects to have its first residents early in 2016.

If you think Comstock’s poorly designed Kiss and Ride lot is a mess now, wait until the restaurants, residences and other retail spaces open. Shuttle buses don’t even try to navigate those turns; they park illegally on the street outside and take a lane away leading into the garage. Cars back up at rush hours because of the dangerous turns. See the paint from cars that have scraped the walls as they try to turn out of the Kiss and Ride. It’s the smallest, most maddening Kiss and Ride lot in the Metro system at one of the busiest stations. It adds precious minutes to every commute. Who designed it? Who approved it? Geico?

Karen Goff

I am just about to do a poll on whether people have reached their boiling point on the garage/Metro in general. But yes, chaos!

Trollie the troll

Me really hate shuttle busses blocking traffic. Why no cops?

Bob

Look at the bright side- at least its not Herndon

North Restonian

I stopped using it months ago. Easily added 10 minutes to the trip home.

Mike M

“We are delighted to have them out here,” said Parker. “Founding Farmers is a terrific, successful restaurant. It’s a great fit for Reston. ”

For once I agree with Comstock. But, as usual they ignore certain critical issues of public logistics.

Lake Anne Zorro

Founding Fsrmers is a good catch for Comstock and Reston. Now, if station ingress, egress, kiss-and-ride, etc. could be reworked perhaps the whole station would actually function for the volume it should be able to handle. Terrible design.

concordpoint

Comstock is not to blame for this traffic mess. The Kiss and ride and layout were all coordinated and approved by the County which operates and maintains the public portion of the garage

Steve

The blame for this unsafe, poorly designed Kiss and Ride lot is shared by the county government, the Virginia Department of Transportation and Comstock. Those entities approved the design and build for the lot and garage.
Reston Station is a public-private partnership between Comstock and the county. In exchange for the right to develop next to the Wiehle station, Comstock agreed to design and build the Kiss and Ride lot, parking garage and road improvements. Here’s some of the documentation:http://ldsnet.fairfaxcounty.gov/ldsnet/ldsdwf/4315356.PDF
I am happy to be corrected if I am reading these wrong. Nothing in the documents says anything about allowing shuttle buses to park illegally during AM rush hours along the south side of Reston Station Blvd. Nothing in these documents says anything about the tight vehicle turning distances in the Kiss and Ride garage, the poor signage directing drivers to the Kiss and Ride or the vehicle counts showing backups in and out of the Kiss and Ride many weekday evenings. See attachment 5, March 2010, pg. 5 Regina Coyle letter establishing the county’s concern about drivers stopping along Reston Station Blvd. to pick up and drop off passengers instead of going in to the Kiss and Ride. The documents also do not say anything about police enforcement of traffic around the station. These problems have been brought to the county’s and Comstock’s attention after the station opened in 2014.

concordpoint

Steve- Agree with you 100%. Fairfax County has transportation planners (an oxymoron?) and Comstock has a multi-million dollar investment at risk if their future retail, residential and office space cannot be accessed due the transportation grid. Interests should be aligned to fix the grid and maybe think about pedestrian traffic this time.

Steve

Same. I WANT this project and station to succeed. I want to patronize the restaurants and shops. Heck, it might even be fun to live there. It is so clear they goofed on the access, signage, traffic counts and enforcement. The only thing I can come up with is that they deliberately designed the turns to be tight so people wouldn’t speed through the garage. As it turned out though, it appears the engineers did not simulate a drive through the lot or they would have instantly known they created a traffic hazard. This week I have been parking in the Park and Ride, where exiting the garage itself they designed two lanes to merge into a tight, steep turn. You can see where people have scraped the walls. Why would you do that? And why would the county allow that?

HP

That exit during rush hour is horrible — not only the absurdly sharp turn to go up the ramp, but the bottle-necking to due the backed up traffic on Reston Blvd and the two lanes merging into one preceding that sharp turn up the ramp. I take the Metro to avoid the horrid traffic going to/from Arlington, but Metro’s reliability (or lackt hereof) coupled with the nightmare trying to exit the Reston Station Park and Ride makes me want to revert back to driving.

Steve

On the first Monday after the Kiss and Ride lot opened last year, I said to my wife, who drives me there every day, “This is probably just a temporary lot until the development is built out. They’re probably building a bigger one but it just isn’t open yet.” Without changes, this is only going to get worse as the development generates more trips. Who would want to go there for breakfast or happy hour with the traffic like that?

Waiting on Phase 2

Also on reason that traffic is so heavy at Whiele is because phase 2 is not yet built but once phase 2 is built things should get better with more stations for people to use. I think the planners were probably planning for 20 years in the future not 2

reston is changing

correct. the entirety of reston station was designed to reflect and accommodate future growth, development, and density – not around an enjoyable kiss and ride experience or easy in and out by vehicle today or 2 years from now. not surprising that all these folks here can’t see that – they can’t see in front of their own faces.

HP

Talk to me in 5 years DB….when Phase 2 is complete.

Steve

It’s anarchy. People have taken to drop off and pick up riders all along the street instead of going into the Kiss and Ride, slowing traffic and creating danger for pedestrians. I routinely see Uber drivers picking up people on the street; I know they are Uber because the passengers are looking at their phones and calling them as they get close. The signage is awful; people can’t see the kiss and ride sign and they make dangerous lane changes to avoid going into the park and ride.

P. Rocker

Anarchy!!!!

Noelle

Excited for more restaurant options!

Nyla J.

Me too! I say convert the golf course into mixed use retail!

reston is changing

buncha babies. move. i am excited for delicious local food and drink to be within walking distance of the house.

Mike M

Allow me to translate: Works for me. Everyone else can blow it out their ear?

The world would be happier if you did not ever leave your house. Thank you

reston is changing

hey bob, thanks for chiming in buddy. i can’t help but notice you seem stressed. you shouldn’t let internet comments get you so worked up.

Bob

I hope you have not left your house….. Thank you if you have not.

reston is changing

bobby no likey when people offer different viewpoints than his own. bobby big baby…

Bob

Bully

reston is changing

wow bob, were you holding up a mirror when you typed that? you’re the bully here. all i’ve done is respectfully respond to your hurtful comments.

Bob

Now you have made me cry- bully!

John Q Public

Farm to table is the new buzz…when in reality its being shipped outta some warehouse.
As for the idiots who designed the Reston Metro…It really is anarchy, clearly pedestrian safety was last on the list of concerns…..what a joke.

Wings!!

Missed opportunity for a Hooters.

#HootersForReston

Billyt

Well, Tilted Kilt is coming to Dulles so at least there is that…

John

Another fake restaurant…like anyone cares where their lettuce was sourced from….witness the pretentiousness of the Silver Diner as of the last 5 years, describing in breathless detail where the eggs are from, etc…while jacking their prices up…why does a single breakfast cost $12++++?? And we line up for it like a bunch of saps!

Nyla J.

I thought for sure it would be a Cheesecake Factory or PF Changs.

Lisa

Drop off at the Metro is a mess. The design of the Kiss & Ride is a joke – traffic jam plus a long walk to actually get on the train. The fact there is no drop off on the Sunrise Valley side is a “miss”. Vienna works well – why would they not follow that model? Plus the limited cover on the way in makes the rainy/snow days lovely. Maybe some wine at the FF bar will make it more bearable.

Linda Ascher Singer

Great breakfast restaurant. Will save us a trip to Tysons.

June Smith

“mixed-use project that sits atop the 3,300-space underground parking garage adjacent to the Wiehle-Reston East Silver Line Metro station.”

Forget lunch … this would have better served Reston had it been in a location within Reston where customers would not have to compete for parking with commuters. No one wants to take a bus to a restaurant.